Day 33: Skelter Helter
In the first No More Heroes game, Travis is said to have killed the assassin known as Helter Skelter. That's great and all, but do you know what would be even better than telling us that Travis killed him? Easy, having Helter Skelter be a legitimate boss battle.
Oh well, at least the sequel, No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle, has Travis go toe-to-toe with his brother, Skelter Helter, who only became an assassin in order to avenge his fallen brother. And what do you know, he just so happens to be the first boss of the game. Let's talk about him, shall we.
The battle is very atmospheric, taking place on the rooftop of a building at night as it beings to gently snow. This isn't just any rooftop, however, as according to Skelter Helter it's the rooftop where Travis killed his brother...not that Travis cares.
In the fight, Skelter Helter will try and either slash away at you and combo you with his beam katana, which is best described as Cloud Strife's Buster Sword if it was part lightsaber, shoot at you with his guns, or just simply punch and kick at you. It's because of his guns and potential to combo you hard and fast that makes this fight more challenging than the battle against Death Metal in the first game. Dare I say, Skelter Helter is one of the more challenging first bosses on this marathon.
Another interesting thing about this fight is that this is the first thing you do in the game. Most games give you some cutscenes, maybe an opening level, and maybe introduce some more characters to ease you into the game. Well, No More Heroes 2 basically says, 'LOL, fuck that shit,' and thrusts you headfirst into battle. But don't worry, the game teaches you the controls of the game as you play through the fight. Tutorials aside, I like how this game starts.
Keep dodging and blocking Skelter Helter's attack and slashing away at him until you've beaten him.
The only thing better than the fight itself is what happens afterwards. After beheading Skelter Helter, his head will fly up in the air only for it to land perfectly back on his shoulders. It's at this moment when he gives a rather poetic foreshadowing of future events in the game before taking his decapitated head off of his shoulders, allowing blood to spill everywhere...only in a Suda51 production would this shit be accepted as normal.
In conclusion, the fight against Skelter Helter is fun, fast-paced, has epic music to accompany it, and that ending cutscene is as entertaining as it is chilling.
Could've done without Slyvia's cutscene in the middle of the fight though...